DPrisoner00200 wrote:I will consent to this and Prime and his experiment to temporarily remove the larva. Then if Strykker will allow, we will go to the device Ms. Yr discussed.

The image of Prime stood before a shining white door at the end of a black hallway. The Prisoner felt like they had walked a mile down the corridor, and had not seen a single door. Was this all for him?

Prime turned back to the Prisoner, flanked by two Praetorians, and spoke.

"Prisoner, I believe we can finish this surgery in one day's time. If you wish to help with the capture of Alice, I strongly suggest you let me begin now. Further, I've done some study of Iron Republic law as we walked. As long as there is a part of you preserved for testing which is unaltered, you may keep your former holdings. This gives us some leeway, but we will be as careful as we can.

If you wish, we may even be able to let you retain some power over the magnavores while sticking to the letter of Iron Republic law. We have some experience with cybernetic implants, and just received FASCINATING new schematics. This is merely an option, if you wish. I need one more witnessed consent to the following points to perform this surgery, and we can begin.

Do you understand that this surgery will be invasive?

Do you understand that a scan of your neural geometry is an essential component of this procedure such that your personality core is preserved?

Do you accept that parts of your body which have been mutated will be restored to their original state, or replaced if they cannot be restored?"

At the other end of this mile long hall way, a door opened as the image of Prime nodded.

"Ryuk will need all of the help he can get, and we would not deny him reasoned assistance. I will await your return. The crew of the transport skiff will take you wherever you wish to go."

The floor moved, letting Ryuk take the long walk quite quickly. As he moved away from the shining white door to the operating theater, he could not escape the thought that it looked remarkably like the light at a long dark tunnel.

It was two days after the battle for the body of Captain Clegg.The stolen shuttlecraft took the rabble, their unconcious boss, and the Prisoner to Sentinel Station once again.

And once again, the Prisoners mind was overcome by doubts. He had been offered a variety of cures since being rescued from the prison of Mandate. One from Prime, one from the Uloh Hive, and rumors of a third hidden on the planet Refuge.

His first goal upon arriving was to get the best medical technology available for Ryuk. Ryuk had been helpful, supportive, and as close to a friend as the Prisoner had met in the last few weeks. Upon learning Ryuk was only unconscious, the Prisoner sighed with relief.

While Ryuk recovered, the Prisoner would politely ask for a cell to sleep in. Of course he meant cell like a monk would have, not like a prison cell. Once safely away in a room by himself, the prisoner would use his larva to reach out to nearby Estrain.

He had seen the assassins hunting for Ryuk and possibly for himself. Them and their Horned friends.He would always remember what those mutants looked like. If it were ever up to him every one of those Horned monstrosities would be hunted down and executed.

He would check to see if any nearby Estrain had any additional information on the Hounds and their assasin buddies.

Then when he was done he would sleep. In the morning he would decide which option to choose. For the first time since being imprisoned, the Prisoner would not be woken up by nightmares of Alice Clegg and her lover.

(OOC: Sorry for the delay on this, just finished my move to Dallas and starting the research. You are not forgotten!)

There was a gentle knock on the Prisoner's cell door. When the Prisoner opened it, there was Prime on the other side. He was unguarded, there were no Praetorians with him. Prime smilled and bowed slightly to the Prisoner.

"I saw your actions on Alice's ship. They were most impressive, though you were denied revenge. I hope that, at the very least, you got closure. Walk with me, if you would."

Prime turned, moving towards a long hallway that the Prisoner recognized from his last visit. He spoke idly as they approached.

"Your problem is an interesting one. As a person who cannot afford death, I think there may be no one group which can help you. Your mutations go far beyond what I've seen with Quall, and I don't know that anyone has tried to reverse the effects of a Larvae as modified as yours. Not to alarm you, but I am looking forward to the challenge. The main trick here will be to isolate whatever part of you is unmodified. Short of that, I'll need to extrapolate your unaltered DNA sequence, working backward from your mutations. It is not as hard as it sounds, I promise."

Prime stopped at the stark white door.

"If you are ready, we can begin. When I am done isolating your code and repairing what I can, I will send you to those who can finish what I can begin."

LeftenantRyuk wrote:As Ryuk heard the brain slug priest mention the name Celyse, he was horrified. Only one other person knows who he chose for this, are they working together? Or are the encrypted communications compromised. The only other option, was that the Hive Queen and Strykker were working together, and that there is most likely a trap invovled. With the possibility of the TRILAT communication lines compromised, Ryuk had little options left, he needed to speak to someone who would have a better idea of what to do, like Prime or Yr. HE would have to do this in person too, in case communitcations where compromised. That left Admiral Yr out, Ryuk had no way to see a shadow on Yrs ship, and wasn't familar with any of them, as he has never been on her ship. That left Prime, and with a few quick steps appeared next to Unity Prime, (after looking through another's eye to walk through a shadow) .

Ryuk states, Prime, we have a problem, we need to talk in private with our unity connections off. And it needs to be done now.

Prime sensed another looking through his uplink, and noted that it was Ryuk. Did he mean to...it seemed that Ryuk felt this was so important that privacy and caution were to be disregarded. Prime politely excused himself and turned calmly from the Prisoner to regard Ryuk. What looked to be thick glass cut the two of them off from the Prisoner.

"This is as secure as you can possibly get, Ryuk. The Sentinel Stations are mine. What is the threat?"

Either the encrypted communications are compromised, or the Hive Queen is working directly with F.M. Strykker and Krypos seems like it is now a trap. The Hive Queens Father Inido knew things that I only told to Strykker, and he referenced it directly afterwards. I have the situation under control on Krypos for now, so I am surmising that out communications in the TRILAT are compromised. I came here first because I could find you in a relatively safe area.

"Ryuk, if our communications were compromised by the Quall, they would be acting very differently at present. I've been noticing an increased amount of collaboration between the Quall and the EEF, particularly regarding this pirate business. Frankly, I would be shocked if the EEF and Ar'Yay were not talking.

This is a time to apply ockham's razor. It is much more probable that the Quall and the EEF are collaborating, which we know they have been through long range scans, than that the TRILAT encrypted communications have been compromised. The EEF may have fallen far, but I do not think they would break up a peaceful resolution to a conflict under Stryker.

As to the presence of traps? There almost certainly are traps. However, if the Zadonai has involved herself, they would be beyond foolish to spring them.

I will look into the security of our communications, but my initial analysis says that we are still secure. Do you have anything further to add before I lift the barriers?"

Great EEF and the Hive Queen working together against the pirates, that is going to make my life fun . . . . If worse comes to worse, I can at least deal with Strykker easily for a bit.

Well, at least communications are not compromised. By the way, who is this Ockham, and why are you using his razor, I though you had your own? I am all for a good cutting, but wouldn't that anger the Hive Queen andthe EEF? And if you need something sharp, you could always borrow one of my knifes if you needed.